Kadriorg Palace ( et, Kadrioru loss, german: Schloss Katharinental) is an 18th-century

Petrine Baroque Petrine Baroque (Russian: Петровское барокко) is a style of 17th and 18th century Baroque architecture and decoration favoured by Peter the Great and employed to design buildings in the newly founded Russian capital, Saint Petersbu ...

palace in

Kadriorg Kadriorg ( Estonian for ''" Catherine's Valley"'') is a subdistrict in the district of Kesklinn ("Midtown"), Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 4,561 (). The subdistrict name derives from the Catherinethal, a Baroque palac ...

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, the capital of

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. Both the Estonian and the German name for the palace means "Catherine's valley". It was built in 1718–1725 to

Nicola Michetti Nicola Michetti, also known as Niccolo or Niccolò (circa 7 December 1675 in Venice – 12 November 1758 in Rome) was an Italian architect, active in a late- Baroque style in mostly Rome, Italy and St Petersburg, Russia. While born in Venice, ...

's designs by

Gaetano Chiaveri Gaetano Chiaveri ( in Rome – 5 March 1770) was an Italian architect and master builder, most notable for his work as part of the second phase of the Dresden Baroque. His works include the Cathedral in Dresden and a new wing of the Royal Castle ...

and Mikhail Zemtsov. The palace currently houses the Kadriorg Art Museum, a branch of the

Art Museum of Estonia The Art Museum of Estonia ( et, Eesti Kunstimuuseum) was established in 1919. Originally based in Kadriorg Palace, the museum has expanded across several sites and today exhibits both international and local art works. At the end of the 1970s, in t ...

, displaying foreign art from the 16th to 20th centuries. The building of the Kumu branch of the museum, showing Estonian art from the 18th century onwards is located nearby in the

Kadriorg Park Kadriorg Park ( et, Kadrioru park) is a park in Kadriorg, Tallinn, Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Fin ...

Construction

Tallinn asv2022-04 img57 Kadriorg Palace

After the successful 1710 siege of Reval (Tallinn) during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

, Czar

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

bought a small manor house at Laksberg (Lasnamäe) for his wife

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

. Plans for a larger palace in the area were developed soon afterwards and construction of a new palace, in what is now Kadriorg, was started on 25 July 1718. The construction of the main building of the palace was completed by 1725. Peter the Great and Catherine visited the unfinished residence on several occasions, but after his death in 1725 Catherine showed no interest in the seaside property. The great hall with Catherine's initials and profuse

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

decor (attributed to Heinrich von Bergen) survives, while many other interiors have been altered. The gardener Ilya Surmin was responsible for the flower garden with two fountains and the so-called mirage garden on several levels. The layout of the park shares similarities with that of the palace of Peter the Great in

Strelna Strelna ( rus, Стре́льна, p=ˈstrʲelʲnə) is a municipal settlement in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, about halfway between Saint Petersburg proper and Petergof, and overlooking the shore of ...

Restoration

Tallinn asv2022-04 img56 Kadriorg Palace

After the death of Peter the Great, the palace received little attention from the Russian royal family. It was sporadically visited, by the Empress Elisabeth and

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

. In 1828-1830 extensive restoration works of the palace and grounds took place. Between 1741 and 1917, the palace also housed the civilian governor of the

Governorate of Estonia The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Governorate of Esthonia (Pre-reformed rus, Эстля́ндская губе́рнія, r=Estlyandskaya guberniya); et, Eestimaa kubermang was a governorate in the Baltic region, along with th ...

. After Estonia became an independent country in 1918, the palace became state property. For a time, one of the wings housed the studio of sculptor

August Weizenberg August Ludwig Weizenberg (6 April 1837 – 22 November 1921) was an Estonian sculptor. Weizenberg was born in the inn of Ritsike, near Kanepi, southeast Estonia. Weizenberg's father was a shoemaker and he learnt how to carve wood in Erastv ...

while the palace was used for art exhibitions. Between 1921 and 1928 the palace housed what would eventually develop into the

. In 1929, in connection with a state visit by King

Gustaf V of Sweden Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxem ...

, the palace was turned into a summer residence for the head of state of Estonia. In 1934, the palace became the official residence of the then head of state,

Konstantin Päts Konstantin Päts (; – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president in 1938–1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades pri ...

who embarked on extensive and controversial restoration works with the aim of transforming the park and the palace into his private domain. From this era, the library in elaborate " Danzig-

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

" style, completed by architect

Olev Siinmaa Olev Siinmaa (November 12, 1881 – March 29, 1948), was an Estonian architect who is perhaps best recalled for his work in the style coined "Pärnu Resort Functionalism". Olev Siinmaa was born Oskar Siimann in Pärnu into a joinery shop ow ...

in 1939 is worth mentioning. A purpose-built presidential palace on the grounds (1938) was designed by

Alar Kotli Alar Kotli (27 August 1904 in Väike-Maarja - 4 October 1963 in Tallinn) was an Estonian architect. He studied sculpture at the art school ''Pallas'' in Tartu during 1922-1923 and mathematics at the University of Tartu. He graduated from the Univ ...

. In 1921, the palace became the main site for the

. The museum was rehoused in temporary locations from 1929 while the palace was being converted into the Estonian head of state's official residence. During the

German occupation of Estonia during World War II During World War II, in the course of Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany invaded Estonia in July–December 1941, and occupied the country until 1944. Estonia had gained independence in 1918 from the then warring German and Russian Empires. How ...

, the palace was the residence of the civilian governor of occupied Estonia,

Karl-Siegmund Litzmann Karl-Siegmund Litzmann (1 August 1893, in Minden, Westphalia – August 1945, in Kappeln, Schleswig-Holstein) was the German General Commissioner for Generalbezirk Estland (Estonia) in the Reichskommissariat Ostland during the German occupation. ...

. After 1944, during the Soviet occupation of Estonia, the palace once again became the main venue for the Art Museum of Estonia, although the buildings were neglected and by the time of the restoration of Estonia's independence in 1991, completely run down. Restoration works, supported by the government of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, began in 1991, and the palace was reopened to the public in 2000. It was also decided that a new building would be established nearby for the section of the museum devoted to Estonian art. The restored palace was reopened in the summer of 2000, but it no longer serves as the main building of the museum, but as a branch displaying the museum's collection of foreign art. This art museum has paintings by

Bartholomeus van der Helst Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613 – buried 16 December 1670) was a Dutch painter. Considered to be one of the leading portrait painters of the Dutch Golden Age, his elegant portraits gained him the patronage of Amsterdam's elite as well as t ...

, Gillis van Valckenborch ("Burning of Troy"),

Jacob Jordaens Jacob (Jacques) Jordaens (19 May 1593 – 18 October 1678) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and tapestry designer known for his history paintings, genre scenes and portraits. After Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, he was the leading Fle ...

("Holy Family"), Lambert de Hondt the Elder,

Adriaen Cornelisz Beeldemaker Adriaen Cornelisz. Beeldemaker (1618, Rotterdam – 1709, The Hague), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography According to Jan van Gool he specialized in painting scenes of deer and boar hunts.Maria Dorothea Wagner Maria Dorothea Wagner (1719 - 1792) was a German painter and drafter. She was primarily a landscape artist, focusing on the landscape of Saxony. Life and work Maria Dorothea Wagner was born in 1719 in Weimar. Her father was a court painter for ...

Julie Wilhelmine Hagen-Schwarz Julie Wilhelmine Hagen-Schwarz ( – ) was a Baltic German painter, primarily of portraits. Biography She was the daughter of the painter August Matthias Hagen; born while her parents were on a painting excursion. She displayed an early i ...

Bernardo Strozzi Bernardo Strozzi, named il Cappuccino and il Prete Genovese (c. 1581 – 2 August 1644) was an Italian Baroque painter and engraver. A canvas and fresco artist, his wide subject range included history, allegorical, genre and portrait paintin ...

Pietro Liberi Pietro (Libertino) Liberi (1605 – 18 October 1687) was an Italian painter of the Baroque era, active mainly in Venice and the Veneto. Biography Liberi was born in Padua, his earliest training was with Alessandro Varotari (''il Padovanino''). ...

Anton Graff Anton Graff (18 November 1736 – 22 June 1813) was an eminent Swiss portrait artist. Among his famous subjects were Friedrich Schiller, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Heinrich von Kleist, Frederick the Great, Friederike Sophie Seyler, Johann Gottf ...

Angelica Kauffman Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann ( ; 30 October 1741 – 5 November 1807), usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered primarily as a history painter, K ...

Francesco Fontebasso ''Allegory of Faith'' (v.1750) San Zanipolo Venice Francesco Fontebasso (4 October 1707 – 31 May 1769) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period of Venice. He first apprenticed with Sebastiano Ricci, but was strongly influen ...

Cornelis Schut Cornelis Schut (13 May 1597 – 29 April 1655) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, engraver and tapestry designer who specialized in religious and mythological scenes. Presumed to have trained under Rubens, he treated Counter-Reformation s ...

, Mikhail Clodt, and

Ilya Repin Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...

("Soldier's Tale").

Gallery

Kadrioru loss päikeselisel õhtul.jpg, The front façade during sunset Tallinn asv2022-04 img18 Kadriorg Palace.jpg, The rear façade Tallinn asv2022-04 img61 Kadriorg Palace.jpg, From the interior Kadrioru loss talvel 2013.jpg, The palace in winter Kadrioruloss1.jpg, The palace grounds Palacio de Kadriorg, Tallinn, Estonia, 2012-08-12, DD 38.JPG,

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

fountains in the garden

References

External links

Kadriorg virtual tour
{{Coord, 59.43851, 24.79084, format=dms, type:landmark_region:EE, display=title Houses completed in 1725 Buildings and structures in Tallinn Baroque palaces in Estonia Kesklinn, Tallinn Tourist attractions in Tallinn Art museums and galleries in Estonia Museums in Tallinn 1725 establishments in the Russian Empire

Construction

Restoration

Gallery

See also

References

External links